by Elle Boon
“Oh my gawd, you’re pregnant, too?” Taya squealed, then covered her mouth, looking over her shoulder at her huge mate who stood a couple feet back.
Talia felt her heart swell with love for not only her daughters, but the babies growing inside them. Goddess, if only they’d allow her to be a part of their lives.
Her girls grabbed each other in a familiar embrace, hugging, laughing, talking a mile a minute. Talia moved back, her feet taking her toward Torq. They’d forgotten about her, forgotten she’d abandoned them for a moment. She didn’t want to interrupt their happiness with her—shitstorm.
“Where you going, Talia?” Jett asked.
She waved at the two girls still hugging and laughing. “I don’t want to—” she stopped speaking as her girls turned toward her.
“Mom, you’re not the bad person here. We’re sorry for being whiny little bitches. Taryn’s especially sorry, since she was the whiniest,” Taya said, bumping her sister’s hip with her own.
Taryn snorted. “Bite me, beotch. You’re the whiny one. I mean, hello, didn’t you like just recently cry in a tub of rocky road ice cream over a stupid movie?”
Taya flicked her hand at Taryn. “The Fate of the Furious final scene gets me every time, damn it. I mean hello, Brian and Dom are racing, then they split off, and then the screen cuts to Brian and Dom staring at each other. We all know Brian is dead in real life. It guts me,” she sniffed.
Bronx groaned. “Oh no, not again. Please for the love of all, let’s think of something else. How about Pretty Woman or some shit?”
Taryn laughed. “I knew you loved that movie, you big bastard.”
Talia’s eyes bounced between her girls and their mates. What the heck were they talking about?
Torq’s voice floated into her mind through their link. “Have you never seen any of these movies?”
“I have no clue what they’re discussing,” she replied honestly.
“Then I shall make it my duty to correct that error. First movie on our must watch list is going to have to be Walking Tall with Dwayne Johnson.” Torq showed her a small clip of the movie.
“Hey, you two, outside voices,” Taya admonished.
“I was just telling your mother we needed to brush up on her lack of movie watching.”
Taryn and Taya both gasped. “What was the last movie you watched?”
Talia bit her thumb nail, thinking of the last time she’d taken a couple hours to watch a movie. “I can’t say. I think it was Raging Bull with Robert De Niro. He was so handsome.”
“That was a pretty good movie,” Jett agreed.
Taya held her hand up. “Um...when did that come out, and what’s it about?”
Talia raised her hand, letting images flow before them like a movie screen. Raging Bull had been about a boxer who fell in love while he rose through the boxing ranks.
“Why is it in black and white?” Taryn asked.
Torq laughed, pulling Talia’s back against his front. “Your mother’s in serious need of a movie makeover. Sweetheart, was that the last one you saw or the only one you can think of?”
Talia tilted her head back, gazing up at a laughing Torq. “There wasn’t a lot of time to go to the movies while we were battling to save the Fey Realm, then when I came here, I sort of got busy.”
Her words sobered everyone.
“Alright, so it’s going to be movie night for us girls at Taryn and Jett’s place next weekend. We’re going to watch all three of the Pitch Perfect movies and sing totally off key, really loud. I’d say we’d get drunk, but clearly, only one of us can drink, which is really no fun, so we’ll just veg out, watch movies, and eat popcorn all day.”
“Why at our place and not you and Bronx’s?” Jett asked.
Bronx punched Jett in the shoulder. “Dude, just go with the flow. We got two pregnant women here. Do you have any clue what we’re in for?”
Jett shrugged. “Some pretty awesome times?”
Taryn launched herself at Jett. “Goddess I love you, Jett Tremaine.”
Talia laughed as she heard Bronx muttering about the other man having a silver tongue.
“Alright, so this has been great. You girls and your mother have a date for next weekend. Right now, we need to see Niall about some stuff. Jett, Bronx, you guys need to get your ladies home and make sure they’re happy and safe.”
She noticed how her mate kept his tone even, his eyes went first to Jett”s and then Bronx’s, conveying more than what he said. She wondered if he was speaking to them on a private link but didn’t want to intrude.
She expected the four of them to wave and say goodbye, actually expected it. Their casual leaving something she’d prepared herself for. However, what she got was a whole lot more. First Taya, her oldest child, walked up. She may not have suffered the way Talia and Taryn had, having been spared so much physical pain, but she’d suffered emotionally.
Taya took hold of her hand. “You don’t owe me any apologies. From this moment forward, our slate is clear. We’re creators of our own futures. Yes, the Goddess has a hand in our destinies, but she doesn’t rule us. We’re our own rulers. You’re my mother, but by some fucked up twist of fate, we didn’t get to form that bond the traditional way, but I feel it.” She placed their hands over her heart. “I feel it in here. You’re exactly what I dreamed of for a mother. You’re strong, beautiful, and resilient. You didn’t let the past tear you down. You rose up from the ashes like a phoenix, more beautiful than any of us.”
Talia felt the first tear drop fall but didn’t dash it away. Her daughter was speaking, saying what she’d longed to hear.
“I may not be as poetic as big sis here, but if I’d been given a wish list for what I wanted my mom to be like, I’d have drawn a picture of you and BAM, that’d be it. Yeah, I was pissed for like a minute. If I could go back, the thing I’d change would be kicking Keith in the nuts harder, the fucker.” Her hand picked up Talia’s other one, their fingers linking.
“Oh my gawd, tell me you really did kick him in the nuts,” Taya begged.
Taryn nodded. “I so did.”
Taya and Taryn high fived with their free hands.
Torq, Bronx, and Jett all groaned, but Talia didn’t dare turn away from her girls. “I love you, both of you. I’ve always loved you. Every breath I took was in hopes that one day I’d get to see your faces. I’d promised myself I’d die happily if I could just hold you one more time.”
Her mate growled at her words, making her glance over her shoulder. “That was before you. Now, I’m happy to have even more reasons to live. Babies, and my girls, and my mate.”
Taryn and Taya growled, both saying mate at the same time, a question in the growled word.
“Jeezus, couldn’t you two smell that from like a mile away?” Jett asked.
Taryn pointed her finger at him. “If you don’t want to go back to making baby planks I suggest you hush it mister.”
“Darlings, I’m over three hundred years old, I think it’s past time I had a mate. Besides, I’m your mother and you both have mates and babies,” Talia sighed again.
“Listen, Niall is banging at my skull. We can talk more later. Right now, our alpha’s demanding our presence.”
Taya pointed at Torq. “If you’re not good to our mother, we’ll gut you where you stand.”
“Or sleep,” Taryn interjected.
“Duly noted. And on that lovely sentiment, we’re out. Get your girls home safely, boys.” Torq gave them a pointed look, while Talia waved her hand around the foursome a moment before they disappeared.
“Did you just send them all home, farfalla?”
Twisting in his arms, she nodded. “I know you were trying to subtly tell them to be safe and keep their guard up. I just sort of added a bit of protection to them. The girls have the ability within them, but neither have truly tapped into their Fey powers yet. I’ll work with them,” she stated with a nod.
“I love it when you get all protective. It’s sexy as
fuck and makes me want to do dirty things with you, to you. Shit, it’ll have to wait though. Alpha A-hole is yelling in my damn ear.”
Torq took a breath, anticipating the dematerializing and reappearing like before. He wondered how many molecules he lost each time they traveled that way. Shaking off the question, he reached for Talia. “Take us to Niall, love.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “How about a little kiss, first?”
He bent, closing his eyes and inhaled her sweet unique scent, then took what she offered. Her lips were soft beneath his, making him wish a bed was close so he could strip them both and kiss every delectable inch of her flesh.
“I’d say get a room, but I fear you’d actually do just that,” Niall growled.
He pulled back from Talia, her smile lit up her face. “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
She unlocked her arms from around his neck. “Your mind was overthinking things, so I gave it a distraction.”
He winked down at his clever mate. “And a wonderful one at that.”
“Except for the fact you’re sporting a huge boner,” Zayn said.
Torq raised his right hand, middle finger in the air. “Fuck off, second.”
Niall clapped his hands. “Alright, children, bring it inside, we got shit to discuss. I want to get the details out of the way before Nolan returns from his grandparents.”
“Nolan is your son?” Talia asked, walking into the house, her eyes taking in the comfortable furniture and boy’s toys lying around.
Niall nodded. “Yep. He’s can be a handful, but he’s mine.”
“He’s cute as a button,” Cora announced, her stomach slightly rounded, showing her pregnancy.
“Must be something in the water around here.” Torq shook his head, marveling at the fact many of the women in the pack seemed to be pregnant. He imagined Talia swollen with his baby and felt his heart kick against his chest. Goddess, he wanted that with her. Would she want another baby, one she was present to raise, or was she over that part of her life?
Talia bumped his shoulder with his. “You’re thinking too hard.”
The back door opened and shut, with it the sound of heavy boots announced the arrival of two more pack members. Torq raised his brows at the frowns marring Raydon’s and River’s faces. Since Kellen from the Iron Wolves had paid the pack a visit and the twins had run after an elusive scent, both men had been on edge.
“What up, boys?” Bronx asked.
River looked around the room, then leaned against the wall. “Nothing we can’t handle.”
Raydon snorted. “What he said.” He tipped his head toward his twin, taking up a position next to River.
Torq took in their rigid stances. His wolf growled when it scented Fae in the air. “Who have you two been with?” he growled, eliminating the space between the three of them.
Growls erupted as he faced off against the twins, their animals not as dominant as his, but they were enforcers like him.
“What the fuck you talking about, Torq?” River snarled.
“I smell Dark Fae on the both of you,” he accused.
Talia appeared next to him. “Not quite, honey.”
Her endearment had him stepping back, taking her with him. “What do you mean? They smell like...their scent is similar to that fucking compound where we found you.”
His mate nodded. “If I hadn’t gone to the Fey Realm, I’m sure I’d still have a lingering scent from my time there as do many of those who were born there. Think, if you’d been born and raised in that compound, don’t you think the scent of the place would be a part of you? All the shifters would have that unique scent. You can’t tar and feather every shifter who was a captive there just as I was, only they might’ve had more liberties than me.”
“The fuck I can’t,” he denied.
Talia put her hand on his cheek, bringing his focus to her. “Torq, stop it. You can’t change what happened. I smell a young female who seems familiar to me.” She turned to River and Raydon. “Who is she?”
Both men crossed their arms over heavily muscled chests, glaring at Torq.
“Pissing contest over, boys. Who’s the mystery female?” Niall asked, his alpha voice held an order.
“I can answer that without whipping my dick out, mainly because I don’t have one. You’ve been following my friend Sky. Now, I want to know why, and before you answer that, be sure and think really fucking hard, because I won’t hesitate to gut you both where you stand,” Taryn promised.
“Damn, you just made me hard,” Jett groaned.
“Shut up, Jett, everything makes you hard,” Zayn said.
Jett shrugged. “Not true. Only Taryn, or anything to do with Taryn does.”
Zayn nodded. “True enough.”
Niall pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fuckers, shut up and tell me what this has to do with what’s going on.”
“I thought you sent them home?” Torq’s question made Jett and Bronx snort.
“Yeah, about that. Our girls sort of overruled us and made the decision to come here, or we’d be getting no nookie in the foreseeable future. Sorry, but that just ain’t happening in my house. Which means we made a detour here instead of home.”
“I just pushed for them to go where they were meant to go,” Talia said.
“Damn that free will again,” Torq growled.
“Can we get back to what the fuck we came here in the first place about?” Niall growled.
“Yes, by all means, let’s get to what we all need to discuss.” Alaina moved to stand next to her mate Niall. “Hello, Talia, you’re looking much better.”
“Thank you. You look lovely as well.”
Niall placed his arms around his mate, his hands resting over her stomach. “Obviously you know we’re expecting a cub?”
Talia nodded. “Seems babies are going to be popping out everywhere around here. Congratulations, alpha.”
“Are you going to be called grandma, Meemaw, or what?” Niall asked nodding toward Taryn and Taya.
“Holy shit does that mean Torq will be a Pawpaw?” Zayn asked with a laugh.
Torq raised his middle finger, freezing when the realization hit him. “Fuck, I’ll be, won’t I?”
“We have a few months for you to get used to it.” Talia grinned.
He opened his mind to his mate, wondering how she truly felt about the situation, but a wall blocked him. He hated having anything keeping him from his mate, even though he was aware she was protecting herself in the only way she knew how. He’d teach her she didn’t need to, not from him. From now on, they were a team.
Chapter Eleven
Talia knew she should leave an opening for Torq in her mind. However, years of protecting herself from abuse kept her from trusting him fully. She winced at the pressure behind her eyes. She looked over to see why Torq was pressing so hard to gain entrance, but his focus wasn’t on her face, but her stomach. Her hand automatically went to where he was staring. The thought of carrying his child, their child, made her equal parts excited, and nauseous. When she’d been pregnant with her girls, both times had been less than one would hope for. Of course, she was saved from torture, so there was that she supposed. Another spike of pain had her closing her eyes. “Stop it, Torq,” she whispered.
“What’s wrong, T?” Torq invaded her space, his hands cradling her face, making her look up at him.
She opened her left eye since her right had a piercing pain still. “Why are you still trying to see inside my mind. I’ll give you access, just stop it. Please,” she begged.
“Baby, it’s not me. I’d never intrude on your thoughts without reason, and I sure as shit wouldn’t continue to hammer at you if it caused you pain. Focus and see if you can’t shut out whoever is trying. Can you let me in without allowing them access? Maybe I can help.” His soothing voice was helping, but only marginally.
Taking a deep breath, she searched for the link between her and Torq, letting it grow until it was bright blue
, a color she associated with him. Each person in her world she gave a color to. Her girls were a shade of blue as well, but their variations were slightly different. Taryn was a light blue like a clear summer day, while Taya was a turquoise. It was relatively easy to allow Torq to have access to her through their link, reaching out to him, giving him access to all that was her. No longer would she keep him out. They were mates, and in both their worlds, that meant forever.
The exhale that escaped from Torq feathered over her forehead, moments before he was a part of her mind. “Very good, farfalla. Now, relax and let me see if I can trace who’s fucking with you.”
She relaxed against him, letting him take her weight in more ways than one. In all her hundreds of years, she’d never allowed anyone to carry her burden, but with Torq he commanded, and she finally felt as if she could. Time ceased to matter as she leaned on the man who claimed her heart, mind and soul. She didn’t even bother to watch what he did, laying more than just her heart bare for him. No, if he wanted, he could see everything she’d been through. That was what being a mate was, letting the other person in, allowing them to see the ugly parts of you and knowing they’d still love you.
“There ain’t nothing about you that’s ugly, Talia. You may have come from a fucked up royal family who didn’t know your true worth, but I promise to show you every single day.” His words whispered through her, filling all the places that felt empty.
Torq gave her forehead a kiss, pulling back mentally and physically, although she still felt him in every fiber of her being. Goddess, it was a wonderful thing, having someone she trusted so close. It was then she became aware the incessant pressure had gone. “Dang it, I didn’t follow the trail. I failed.” She closed her eyes, not wanting to see the anger in the eyes of the Mystic Pack.
“You didn’t fail, love. I got a trail. It’s not a signature I’m familiar with, but he’s close, and he’s got some power. It’s similar to you and Payton, but dark. I can’t explain it, but the...with you and other Fey, when I’m around one of your kind, I get a sense of freshness. Like a summer breeze. With what I sensed trying to get inside you, it was more like rotting foliage. Does that make sense?”